What’s interesting about this statement is the inclusionary nature of the goals. This march isn’t just about what are naively thought of as women’s issues (abortion, sexual assault and economic disparity), the group claims to be fighting for racial justice, voting rights and clean water. They are planning to fight against police brutality, sex slavery and attacks on LGBTQ citizens. Based on this manifesto, it feels like this movement will see women’s rights connected to human rights on a fundamental level.

Of course, it will take more than a PDF to resist the illegal occupation of the federal government. Words, marches, and emotions have to be backed by coordinated action. Otherwise they’re fuel without an engine. But a unified message of resistance can help bring us together. It can create the foundation we can use to help each other through the dark days ahead.

I’ve been interested in spies and espionage for my entire adult life. I write about spies in my Crime and Passion Series. I read books on real and fictional spies. I watch a ton of spy movies. When I got out of law school, I might have even applied to the CIA (but I can’t confirm or deny anything). I consider myself a proud spy nerd, which is why Trumpzilla’s latest scandal is such a guilty pleasure for me.

“The memos describe sex videos involving prostitutes with Trumpzilla. They also suggest that Russian officials proposed various lucrative deals, essentially as disguised bribes in order to win influence over him. Finally, they describe several purported meetings during the 2016 presidential campaign between Trumpocalypse representatives and Russian officials to discuss matters of mutual interest, including the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee and Mrs. Clinton’s campaign chairman, John D. Podesta.”

Scott Shane, Adam Goldman and Matthew Rosenberg for the New York Times

All this is pretty wild stuff, but the implications of the alleged information are of special interest to spy nerds everywhere. See, when a spy wants to manipulate someone, there are four major ways to do it based on the acronym MICE (which stands for Money, Ideology, Coercion and Excitement). Under normal circumstances, a spy picks one of the four methods depending on his or her target. But if the memos are accurate, then Putin made sure to use all four methods on Trumpzilla:

Money: Bribes

Ideology: *

Coercion: Sex Videos

Ego: Stroking his ego by helping him beat Clinton

From the perspective of a spy nerd, gaining control of a United States president has to be one of the most successful operations in the history of history. The Trojan Horse, D-Day and Madam Butterfly all pale in comparison. Why fight a war or steal secrets when you can control an entire country on demand?

Of course, if you are an American (or live on the planet Earth in general) this might be the worst thing ever, especially if the Trumpocalypse wipes out everything everywhere.

Well played, Comrade Putin. Well played indeed...

Have fun.

G

* Ideology is a dubious concept when it comes to Trumpzilla, since the only thing he believes in is himself.

There is a myth in American politics about elected officials and private businesses. In theory, the people who run governments as public servants are supposed to think and act for the benefit of the country as a whole, not for themselves or specific corporations.

But like many other aspects of American politics, Trumpzilla is throwing the illusion of public service out the window. According to Julie Bykowicz and Chad Day of the Associated Press, “days before the inauguration, he continues to own or control some 500 companies, creating a tangle of potential conflicts of interest without precedent in modern U.S. history.”

We already know he has to repay Putin for his help in hacking the election and ushering in the Trumpocalypse. We already know he’s filling his cabinet with cronies, ass kissers and denizens of the swamp. Now we have indications that he will insist on maintaining business relationships with the potential to turn the presidency into his personal Monopoly bank.

So when it comes time for him to make a decision that will impact the American people (like on January 21st) whose interests do you think is going to be important to him? Putin? Trump International? His own fragile ego? Whoever he’s working for, people like you and I will rank very low on that list, if we are on the list at all.

I’m reading a book now called The Shock Doctrine that explores the recent history of disaster capitalism and corporatism in America. As I read this book, I understand that Trumpzilla is far from the first to use his office to line his own pockets. But unless we fight him, we might suffer the most for his greed.

There is a cliche in self-help circles known as “fake it until you make it.” No one exemplifies the power of this slogan more than our president elect. He took a fake name, bragged about his fake business skill, parlayed it into a third rate fake TV show, and then rode a wave of fake promises and fake news all the way to the White House.

Trumpzilla might be the product of our age, but it appears that ‘Merica isn’t really sure what to do with him now that he’s coming into power. His supporters, his staff and “his” party are all struggling to deal with him and according to The Nation, the press is too fixated on the fake to report on the real.

:Then there’s the Twitter feed. Filled with falsehoods and threats, it has become a crack-like addiction for reporters, successfully diverting attention from reporting about Trump’s corruption, incompetence, ignorance, dishonesty, misogyny, prejudice, and authoritarian tendencies, to name just a few of the new president’s charms. Favoring spectacle over substance, journalists fall for this gambit every time—like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football."

Eric Alterman: The Nation, ﻿ The American Press Is Under Threat as Never Before

In 2004, Stanley Bing wrote a book called “What Would Machiavelli Do?” with a specific chapter on bullshit. One of his main examples of successful bullshit was Trumpzilla, even back then. Bing wrote “...in the art of bullshit (and it is an art, not a science) Trump towers above all others like a Colossus.”

This might have been fine for shady real estate deals and banal reality TV, but now he’s made it. While he can’t only perform at the level of his ability (160 characters or less), we don’t have to.

Sun Tzu said, “All warfare is based on deception.” In the modern war of information, Trumpzilla’s Twitter is a weapon of mass distraction. Once we look past the smoke and smear campaigns, we can resist the Trumpocalypse and restore some semblance of our sanity.

The dark cloud of the Inauguration creeps closer. Obama is taking his “victory” lap, making his “farewell” speeches. All of us have to prepare ourselves for a 2-4 year resistance. There have been several pieces written in the past few weeks offering advice on fighting the scourge that is Trumpzilla, but Charles Blow was succinct in his oped piece in today’s New York Times.

"When politics seem out of your control, remember that community and culture are very much in your control. We help shape the world we inhabit every day. A life is a collection of thousands of decisions, large and small, made every day. Make those decisions with purpose and conviction, especially [during the Trumpocalypse]"

- Charles Blow, The Anti-Inauguration

His suggested list of activities are broad and varied:

Protest him, his actions and what he stands for in public.

Volunteer to help all the people he plans to attack

Donate to the causes he plans to victimize

Subscribe to credible news sources

Read to educate yourself on the issues

Write to the people in power to frame the discussion

Love your tribe and let them know it

January 20th, 2021 can’t come soon enough. Until the final day of the Trumpocalypse, many of us will fight him and what he represents. This list and others like it will help. Some of us will not make it, but it is often the struggle that defines us, not the outcome.

"House Republicans voted to eviscerate the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent body created in 2008 to investigate allegations of misconduct by lawmakers after several bribery and corruption scandals sent members to prison. The ethics change, which prompted an outcry from Democrats and government watchdog groups, is part of a rules package that the full House will vote on Tuesday. The package also includes a means for Republican leaders to punish lawmakers if there is a repeat of the Democratic sit-in last summer over gun control."

- Donna Cassata: Associated Press

Now what might motivate Congress to eliminate ethical oversight? Is it possible that they are so upstanding and moral that the OCE is an unnecessary expense? Or is it because they plan to conduct so many ethical violations that they want to avoid any and all oversight into their illegal activities?

And what is worse? Is it the murderer who kills a man in cold blood or the politician who cripples national healthcare, imprisons people for profit and helps destroy the environment for his corporate masters? Is it a matter of intimacy, or a matter of scale?

When men are oppressed it is a tragedy. When women are oppressed it’s a tradition.

— Letty Cottin Pogrebin

Misogyny, rape culture and male insecurity manifests itself in a variety of ugly ways. The ‘Merican variety is particularly insidious, because it hides behind euphemisms like “religious freedom” and “personal choice.”

The judge justified his ruling by claiming that individual doctors’ refusal to treat trans patients or women who have had abortions does not limit their access to health care and coverage.

— Marie Solis: Mic.

The impotent discrimination against women would be laughable if it wasn’t so repulsive. Even if we (like this judge) ignore the impact of this ruling on rural Texas women who only have access to one bigoted doctor, how can we justify the gender bias?

Are doctors allowed to refuse treatment to men who take Viagra or get hair implants?

What about denying service to rapists, child molesters and other male specific criminals, who unlike women who have abortions and transgender patients, actually commit crimes that harm individuals and society?

The double standard against women and transgender people isn’t about religious freedom. It’s about gender tyranny. It’s not about personal choice. It is sexual assault disguised as morality. It is repulsive way to treat women and we are repulsive for allowing it to exist in our society.

In rape culture, it is the duty of the victim to repress, avoid and escape her potential rapist. Women have to control where they go, what they wear, how they behave and how they respond to sexual aggression. Deviation from patriarchal norms is not an option. We don’t teach rapist not to rape. The concepts of respect, honor and support of women have no place in rape culture, so since the beginning of recorded history, women have been forced to adapt.

Officers have routinely arrested hundreds of citizens annually without probable cause, strip-searching them and denying them contact with their family and lawyers for days — all in an unconstitutional attempt to force cooperation with detectives who finally admitted they were operating on a mere “hunch” or “feeling.”

— The New York Times Editorial Board

Systemic abuse by the police against minority communities is fundamental to ‘Merican culture. If killing people for flimsy reasons is condoned, and the prison industrial complex profits from mass incarceration, then being held in jail for a “hunch” doesn’t seem that bad. But when the Justice Department answers to Trumpzilla, how many of these abuses will be investigated and stopped? What would prevent the Trumpocalypse from adopting government sponsored kidnapping as a political tool to intimidate and remove elements of society that don’t fall in line? How soon will it be before isolated pockets of secret police become the norm?

Trumpzilla claims to have lots of friends. He’s desperate for the photo ops with Kanye (while building his Legion of Doom). He pontificates about his love for Putin (especially since that whole election tampering thing). He even talks to the President of Taiwan (threatening to destabilize Asian geopolitics). Yes, a lot of people love Trumpzilla, but does America?

Now keep in mind, a lack of public support isn’t necessarily going to end the Trumpocalypse. Trumpzilla will still try to run rampant over the Constitution and sell the country off to his friends. And we are the same people who just knew Clinton was sure to win the White House, so we could be completely wrong…again. We know ‘Merica loves Trumpzilla, but he might not have as many friends as he thinks. Maybe long term public rejection will subdue the raging beast and send him back to the tacky golf course he came from.

Many romantic relationships suffer from an expectation of fantasy. We understand that health, wealth and personal growth require effort over a long period of time. But our intimate relationships, especially when it comes to sexual expression, are often caught up in concepts like “soulmates”, “true love”, and “happily ever after”. Social psychologist Jessica Maxwell calls this phenomenon sexual destiny belief. She contrasts it with the idea of sexual growth and suggests one is superior to the other when it comes to improving our long term partnerships.

Results suggest that those who are higher in sexual growth beliefs—who think sex takes work—are more satisfied in their sex lives and overall relationships. On the other hand, those who were stronger in sexual destiny beliefs, those who saw sexual problems as a sign that they and their partner weren’t truly soul mates, were more likely to lose faith in a relationship when sexual difficulties arose.

— Jessica Maxwell: How Implicit Theories of Sexuality Shape Relationship Well Being

The implications are clear and they make perfect sense. If we’re willing to learn to improve our minds, or exercise to improve our bodies, or work to improve our finances, then it only makes sense that we need to improve our sexual expression too…

And building a better sex life with your partner is more fun than going to work anyway…

As the Trumpocalypse begins to take shape on the horizon, the Resistance looks for new tactics to help in the struggle. Like everyone else in the modern world, law makers on all levels are using social media to get the message out and win the war of words. But that will change if the Trump Zombies get their way.

House Republicans have proposed punishing representatives who shoot video or take photos on the floor of the chamber — a change in rules seen as a direct response to a dramatic sit-in in June by House Democrats demanding a vote on gun control legislation that was streamed live online.

— FRANK THORP V: NBC News

So why is it that Trumpzilla can tweet anything he wants, any time he wants, and manipulate mainstream and social media at will, but any attempt by the Resistance to shed light on the process of government is met with a proposed fine? The hypocritical demand for asymmetric media access isn’t new. Totalitarian regimes do it all the time. But maybe if we get a chance to see how Washington is really governed, we can limit the damage Trumpzilla and his Zombies can do.

From Anton Sterling to Jessica Williams to Philando Castile to Korryn Gaines to Tyre King to Terence Crutcher to Taiwon Boyd to Levonia Riggins to Keith Scott to Alfred Olango to Deborah Danner we find a pattern. The gender, age, and geographic location might have been different for each victim, but the outcome was the same. Our police use our funding to murder us and face little or no consequences for their actions.

None of us are fortune tellers. We don’t know what 2017 will bring, but it’s safe to say some of us won’t make it to see 2018. All we can really do is listen, learn, fight, work, create and love the people who are important to us.

My role as a member of Congress, as a Latino member of Congress and as a veteran, is to make sure that we remind a lot of our immigrants, a lot of our minority citizens in general, that this country is still theirs.

— Ruben Gallego D. Arizona

These are the people we need to support through the next four years. We can rally, protest, donate and write letters, but these are going to be the people staring across the table at Trumpzilla and his Legion of Doom. If we work together, maybe some of us might make it out in one piece.

Third, if the goal of ISIS is to drive a wedge between the moderate international Muslim population and the secular governments of the West, then all of Trumps “ideas” play into the hands of terrorists. Discrimination, isolation, and abuse radicalize lone wolf terrorists, which is exactly what ISIS needs to survive.

I’m not an expert on counter terrorism. I’m not an expert on ISIS. Having said that, I am pretty sure that pouring gasoline on a fire is not the best way to put the fire out.

But I don’t think Trumpzilla wants to put the fire out. He needs the crisis to hide his crimes and ignorance.

Listen to a story of spies and seduction set in a world of crime and passion...

Nikki Siriene will do anything for her lover Chris. She'll use her sexual charms to spy for him. She'll deal with the slut shaming from his mercenaries to the threat of sudden violence from his targets. But she wants a better life.

So when Chris brings her to Argentina to seduce a suspected arms dealer, Nikki hopes this will be the one job that saves Chris and keeps them together. Getting close to a powerful target is easy for her. But dealing with his paranoid business partner and mysterious wife create complications and problems she couldn't anticipate. The jealousy and danger increase until one explosive secret could cost Nikki her lover, her sanity and her life.

From my perspective, Susie Bright is a luminary in the genre of erotic fiction. Not only has she written, edited, and published several books on the subject over the years, her writing guide How to Write a Dirty Story has been an inspiration for all six of the novels I’ve written. I’ve wanted to read her first anthology The Best American Erotica 1993 for years, so when it went on sale on Audible, I downloadedit as soon as I could. Unfortunately, my experience was less than ideal.

The book does have positive qualities. First, there is a wide array of authors who contributed short stories to this collection and the range of erotic expression is very diverse. LGBT, straight and BDSM flavors are all mixed and represented here. Characters of different ages, ethnic backgrounds, nationalities and economic realities all get time in the spotlight. And the range of sexual expression is also broad. Some characters fully explored their passions, others lost their chance just before they could attain satisfaction, and some struggled to repress or deny the only thing they couldn’t stop thinking about.

But all the stories shared similar flaws. The stories had little or no turning points, no crisis choice that the characters had to make to expose their true nature or alter their condition. They were unchanged from the beginning of the story to the end, and the sexual experiences they had (or didn’t have) did nothing to bring about change in their lives. What they did was on full display. Why they did it or how it defined them was always left out.

It doesn’t have to be that way in erotica or any other genre. We only have to look at the short stories in Delta of Venus, Night in a Moorish Harem or Erotic Interludes to see that sexual expression can be the catalyst for change in a character’s life. Of course, not every sexual encounter alters our existence, but when every story in a collection lacks that element, the whole book suffers.

In terms of the overall presentation of the audio book it’s also a mixed experience. The readers of each piece were very good and their voices matched the nature of the narrator well. However, most of the sex in this book skews towards the nonconsensual. There is diversity here too, as the scenarios range from lack of consent to rape and sustained torture. If you don’t enjoy those types of stories the book might be hard to get through.

Overall, I appreciated the diversity of Best American Erotica, but the stories themselves didn’t satisfy. The series continues for several more volumes, so perhaps the first one can be seen as a viable proof of concept.